Art of raising submerged vessels



1. w. RENO. ART OF RAISING SUBMERGED VESSELS,

Patented Dec. 13, 1921.

2 SHEETS-SHEE APPLICATION FILED JUNE I5, 1921- INVENTOR 2 730 1 I ATTORNEY J. W. RENO. ARI 0F RAISING SUBMERGED VESSELS. APPLICATION men JUNE 15. 1921. 1,400,31 6. Patented D60. 13, 1921.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JESSE W. RENO, OE NEW YORK, N. Y.

ART OF RAISING SUBMERGED VESSELS.

Application filed June 15,

To all whomz't may 00710877-1 Be it known that I, W. Reno acitizen of the United States, residing in N ew York, in the county 0t New York and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in the Art or Raising Submerged \Tessels. of which the following is a specification.

lily invention relates to the art of raising sunken vessels, and has for its object, among others, to devise what- I may properly term, a vertical double tandem pontoon, which when properly attached to the side of the sunken vessel ano suitably inflated for the purpose will raise the ship from oil" of the bottom oi the sea sufficiently to allow its deck to be well above the surface of the water without the use of additional pontoons, to the end that the subsequent opera tions of reclaiming the sunken vessel from the sea can be conveniently and adequately carried on; all oi? which will more fully appear liei'ein In my patents, numbered, 1,36%,le2, patented January ei, 1921; 1,364,143, pat-enter January i, 1.911; and 1,373,672, patented April 5, 1921, .l disclose a vertical pontoon, disposed upr ght in the sea, adapted to be attached to the sides of a sunken vessel, and capable o't' raising a sunken vessel under the buoyant force 0r air contained in the pontoon. In order to raise a sunken vessel from oii' of the bottom of the sea by the use of the buoyant force of air in a vertical pontoon attached to the sides of the sunken vessel, it is imperative, in order to obtain suiiicient buoyancy, to provide pontoons of long length, comparatively speaking, say for instance, sixty feet. The long pontoon also places the center of buoyancy well above the center of gravity of the vessel, so that as the vessel rises to the surface there will be no tendency to turn turtle. The long pontoon, however, in case the vessel rises with one side lower than the other, may be subjected to severe bending strains, which may be sufficient to cause it to rupture. Furthermore, when the vessel is raised, the long pontoon leaves the deckof the vessel a considerable distance below the surface of the water, and too deep in the majority of cases to permit the ship to be towed into a harbor. I have suggested one form of apparatus and method to bring the deck of the ship above the water, in my application for a patent, Serial Number 153,108, filed March 17, 1921,

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 13, 1921.

1921. Serial No. 477,653.

entitled, Devices for raising sunken vessels, by the use of box-shaped buoyant devices, placed und r the ship to which the vertical pontoons at the sides of the ship can be attached.

My present invention, which, as I have already said, may be termed, a double tandem pontoon, is designed to permit raising the ship with its deck well above the surface without the use of additional buoyant devices placed. under its bottom; and also permit the use or vertical pontoons of mate rially less length than the long integral vertical pontoons referred to above, and yet provide in effect a buoyant lifting force substantially equal to that obtained in the use of the long, single pontoon. And, again, the double tanden vertical pontoon is adapted to be manipulated more easily than the long pontoon,and by reason of its flexibilit lend itself to the different positions of the ship and pontoon, both absolutely, and relatively to each other, in the operation of raising the ship, and finally reclaiming her b towing her into a harbor or other suitable site.

I attain these objects, and still others which may appear hereinafter, by the apparatus or device and method illustrated in the. accompanying drawings, in which,

Figure 1 is a side view of a sunken vessel on the bottom of the sea, with my double tandem vertical pontoons attached to her side.

Fig. 2 is a side view of a sunken vessel on the bottom of the sea with the upper pontoons of my double tandem pontoons unhooked from the lower pontoons, and attached to the sides of the sunken vessel.

Fig. 3 is a side view of a sunken vessel, raised by the pontoons, which constituted the double tandem pontoons, with the deck above the surface of the water and the vessel in position to be towed to a harbor.

Fig. 4; is a diagrammatic end view of the sunken vessel with the double tandem pontoons attached thereto; and a section shown of my siphon, claimed in my Patent Number 1,364,142.

Fig. 5 is a view in vertical section of my double tandem pontoon, with equalizer bar, lifting cables and hooks attached thereto, patented in my Patent Number 1,364,142.

Fig. 6 is a diagrammatic view of the bow of a sunken vessel, with my double tandem pontoon attached thereto, showing the flexibility of the double tandem pontoonto adapt itself to the contour of the vessel.

Fig. 7 is a diagrammatic end view of a sunken vessel with my double tandem pontoon attached thereto, and my said siphon, to deliver air from a compressor to the lower pontoon or to be lowered away from .the pontoon or have the pontoon rise from it.

Similar numerals refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

Referring more particularly to my double tandem pontoon, I-have shown it embodied in the form of two, separate hollow cylinders, of comparatively short length, attached together by cables, one above the other, each having a closed upper end, and an open lower end, the double tandem pontoon being adapted to constitute a vertical pontoon. the lower cylinder is designated by the numeral, 1, and the upper cylinder by the numeral, 2, the closed end by the numeral, 3, and the open, lower end by the numeral, 4:. Of course, the form of the cylinders may not be necessarily round. Around their circumference at a suitable point in their length isareinforcement of the wall ofthe' cylinder of a band or belt, 5, and a thrust block or shoe, 6, as disclosed in my Patent Number 1,378,672, and my equalizer bar, 7, and cables, 8, and hooks, 9, at their lower end, adapted to be hooked into the holes, 10, formed for that purpose in the hull of the sunken vessel, 11, disclosed in my Patent Number 1,364,142. On the belt, 5, of the lower cylinder, 1, eyes, 12, are fixed, adapted to receive the hooks, 9, on the cables, 8,01 the upper cylinder, 2, and by those means attach the two cylinders together, and .yet, permit them to be conveniently and readily detached and separated from each other. In the closed end of the cylinders, constituting my double tandem pontoon, is a pipe,

13,with a cook, 14, adapted to close or open the pipe. The length of the pipe within the cylinder is such that its end normally reaches the right height above the water level in the closed end of the cylinder when the extent of the area of air space between the closed end of the cylinder and water level is sufficient to buoy the cylinder or double tandem pontoon with the closed end of the upper cylinder at or about the surfaee'of the sea or adequately thereabove to cause the pontoon to float at that height,

ready to be further handled, manipulated and maneuvered in the several operations of raising the sunken vessel. When desired, the cock may be opened to allow the air confined in thehead of the cylinder to escape therefrom until the water in the cylinder rises to the end of the-pipe, 13, and seals it or as much air asotherwise desired may be allowed. to escape through the pipe,

In the figures of the drawings,

and the. cock be thereupon closed. The length of the pipe and the sealing of it by the rising of the water in the cylinder in sures that there will always remain sufficient air occluded in the head of the pontoon to preserve suiiicient buoyancy of it to prevent'it from sinkin even if the cock in the pipe be left open. fin the other hand, a tubing, 15, leading from an air compressor, 16, on a supply vessel, 17 standing by, may be coupled to the pipe, 18, and, thereupon, air be forc'ed by the compressor through the tubing, 15, and pipe, '18, to the air space in the head of the upper cylinder, and thereby increase the buoyancy of the pontoon or cause it to rise in the sea. In Fig. 5, I have shown an open ended conduit pipe, 18, fixed upright along the wall of and within the lower cylinder, 1, with its lower end, 19, free tobe coupled to the nozzle of an air-supply tubing or pipe, say for example, the tubing, 15, and thereupon, the conduit, 18, conducts air and from its upper end discharges air in the water opposite to the open, lower end of the upper cylinder, 2; the air so discharged will rise through the water in the cylinder to the air space in the closed end of the upper cylinder, 2. By that means, the buoyancy of the upper cylinder of my double tandem pontoon and therefore, the pontoon as a possible to avoid by suitable design of apparatus and its ready and easy manipulation in the sea.

In the beginning, with the sunken vessel resting on the bottom of the sea, I proceed to attach my vertical double tandem pontoons to it, and when they are suitably inflated, with air, as already explained in describing them eonstituting my doubletandem pontoon, will, by the buoyant force of the air confined in them, raise the vessel from oil" of its seabed, to the height attainableby the lifting force of the double t-an- V dem pontoon. This being accomplished. that is to say, the ship havingv been raised from deep water, it is then towed with. the pontoons-attached and grounded in. comparatively shallow water to a position, as indicated in Fig. 1, with the closed end of the upper cylinders of the double'tandem pontocn protruding above the surface of the sea, but withthedeck of the ship below the surface. The vessel at that height may be too deep in :thewater to towit into a harbor on aceountof insuflicient depth ofchannel or water at the site'where it is desired to dock the ship or thede'ek of the ship may be too deep in the water conveniently to allow the further work of reclaiming the then nositionunhook the hooks of their cables from the eyes, 12, of the lower cylinders, 1, interspace them between the lower cylinders, and hook their hooks into the holes, 10, in the hull of the sustained vessel, as depicted in Figs. 2 and 3. 'The upper cylinders may be drawn down by any suitable and convenient means: I prefer, however, to use, for that purpose my mobile tractor workingchamber, and power driven drum and cable, disclosed in my above-re cited patents. It is thought to be unnecessary to show that apparatus in the present application for a patent or describe the operation of drawing down the cylinders to a position in which the hooks of their cables become in a position to be hooked into the holes, 10, in the vessel. In order to direct and manipulate the hooks to hook them into the holes, 10, I prefer to resort to my mobile tractor working chamber and rod therein mounted, and more particularly disclosed inmy Patent Number 1,373,672, above recited. It is -obvious, however, that, in the case where the. water is more or less shallow,

divers, may employed, if preferred, to hook the hooks into the holes in the vessel. If in the operation of drawing down the cylinders, it is observedthatthey have a tendency to sink lower than is desired, on account of any decrease of their buoyancy by reason of the further compression of the air confined in the air space in their closed end, a tubing can be connected to the pipe, 13, and air be forced therethrough to within the confined space in the head of the cylinder, and, thereby, the desired buoyancy of the cylinder be regulated andcontrolled. Or instead of forcing air into the cylinder through the pipe,'13, I can accomplish the same result by employing my siphon, 20, di closed in my Patent Number 1,364,142, above-recited, which is indicated in Fig. 7 of the application for a patent.

lVhen the ship has been towed into a harbor or to any other site desired, the cock, 14, in the pipe, 13, can be opened, and the cylinder be thereby deflated. In Fig. 4, I have shown the vessel as being on amore or less level keel, and the upper and lower cylindersof my double tandem pontoon in substantially one and the same plane with each other, the upper cylinder vertical being directly above the lower one, and the pressure shoe, 6 of the lower cylinder against the side of the vessel, and its hooks attached in the holes in the vessel in position to apply its lifting force thereto, and the hooks of the upper cylinder attached-to the lower cylinder, the latter also in po ition to add its lifting force to the vessel. Even with the vessel on a level keel, my double tandem pontoon will be found to be of striking importance in the operations of handling, manipulating, and attaching them to the vessel, and raising it. Because of the short length of each of the two cylinders as compared with a long, integral vertical pontoon, though nevertheless the two short cylinders may constitute in lifting effect one long, integral pontoon,t-h'ey are adapted to be separately and jointly manipulated with great freedom and ease. and raise a sunken vessel to the height tnat a long, integral pontoon will raise it; but

with the important advantage that the up-- per cylinders of the double tandem pontoon can be conveniently detached from the lower cylinders, and re-a-ttached to the holes, 10, in the vessel, and the raising of the vessel from that position be proceeded with until the desired elevation is attainei. The advantage of my double tandem pontoon is notable particularly in comparatively shallow water. 7

I have already mentioned that the lifting and other strains entailed on a long, integral vertical pontoon might be enough to rupture it, where the ship is found to be sunk on an uneven keel; whereas, my double tandem vertical pontoon readily and automatically tends to adapt its position to the position of the ship, whatever it may be, and more or less also to the outline of its hull. In Figs. 6 and 7, I have indicated the flexural adaptiveness of my double tandem pontoon. In Fig. 6 the lower cylinder is depicted as conforming its vertical position substantially to the lines of the bow of the ship, while the upper cylinder maintains its major axis virtually vertically. The flexibility inherent in my double tandem pontoon is a highly important characteristic and feature; in that, among other advantages, it mayserve to reduce in effect the application of strains, which in the case of a long integral vertical pontoon, might tend to rupture it. My double tandem vertical pontoon also allows the lifting cables of the upper cylinder to pull vertically in substantially the same line in which the buoyant force of the cylinder is lifting the vessel.

Having described and shown my invention, what I desire to secure by a patent is 1. In the art of raising submerged sunken vessels by vertical pontoons, containing air,

adapted to raise a sunken vessel, a vertical double tandem pontoon, comprised of sev- "eral comparatively short-length hollow cyladapted tobe attached to the sunken vessels by means of holes formed in the hull of the vessels for that purpose, a vertical double tandem pontoon, comprised of several comparatively short-length hollow cylinders,

with an open lower end and a closed upper end, the said closed end being adapted to contain air, a pipe in the said end, its orifice within the cylinder being adapted to'be normallyabove. the water in the cylinder, but

abnormally be sealedthereby, the cylinders being flexibly connected together, one over the other,'an dtl 1e said vertical-double tandem pontoon being adapted to be attached I to the holes in the vessel, ancl'raise it.

3. In the art of raising submerged sunken vessels by vertical pontoons, containing air,

adapted to be attached to the sunken vessels by means of holes formed in the hull of the vessels-for that purpose, a vertical double tandem pontoon, comprised of several comparatively short-length hollow cylinders,

withan open lower end and a closed upper end, the'closed end serving to constitute a chamber, the cylinders being flexibly connectedtogether, one over the other, an air conduit or pipe, on, the lower cylinder, adapted to discharge air beneath the'open .end of the upper cylinder, the vertical double tandem pontoon being adapted to be 7 attached to the said holes, and by the buoyant force of air raisev the vessel from oil? of the bottom of the sea.

4. In the art of raising submerged sunken vessels by vertical pontoons, containing air, adapted to be attached to the sunken vessels by means of holes formed in the hull of the vessels for that purpose, a vertical double tandem pontoon, comprised of several comparatively short-length hollow cylinders, with an open lower end and a closed upper end, eyes provided in the lower cylinder,

adapted to receive hooks; cables, one end secured to the cylinders, and the other end provided with the said hooks, adapted to connect the cylinders together, one above the other, and to the said holes, and by the buoyant force confined in the'pontoon raise the vessel from off of the bottom of the sea.

5. In the art of raising submerged sunken vessels by vertical pontoons, containing air, adapted to be attached to the sunken vessel by means of holes formed in the hullof the vessel for that purpose, a method comprised of the following steps; attaching to the said holes double tandem vertical pontoons comprised of two hollow cylinders, connected together one above the other, with their upper ends closed to form chambers to receive air to enable the pontoons to raise the vessel from off of its seabed to the height in the water attainable by the buoyant force of the confined air in the double tandem pontoons; thereupon, disconnecting the upper cylinder from the lower cylinder; and attaching it to theholes in :the suspended vessel; and inflating with additional air, the

pontoons attached to the vessel and whereupon, the vessel be caused to be raisedv'from its said suspended position to the further height desired. I p In testimony whereof, I have signed name to this specification.

- JESSE RENO. 

